1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to assembly machines, systems and methods. More particularly, the present invention relates to an assembly machine having a continuous track around which one or more dispensing heads rotate, along with systems and methods of use thereof.
2. Related Art
Assembly machines today are typically designed for specific projects or purposes and have specific throughputs, capacities, or the like. If a manufacturer needs a machine that has increased throughput or capacity than their original machine is capable of, the manufacturer typically needs to purchase a completely new machine. This problem is largely present today in pick and place machines for assembling circuit boards with components.
A typical pick and place machine today includes a feeder system that is located on an outer area of the machine for feeding components to an inner area of the machine where a circuit board is located. One or more pick and place heads on the machine are capable of moving in the x, y, and z directions to pick up components from the feeder system and place the components onto the unfinished product or circuit board in the inner area of the machine. The pick and place heads may be capable of moving anywhere in the work location between the feeders and where the board is being worked on. They are usually path-optimized to pick up as many components as possible and place them on the board as quickly as possible, returning to the feeders thereafter for more components.
However, assembly machines such as the pick and place machine described are not customizable or incrementally expandable depending on the requirements of the unfinished product or circuit board manufacturer, other than adding a second positioning system. Moreover, in the particular pick and place machine example, feeder systems need to be optimally placed for each job for optimal assembly speed, which takes a large degree of calculation, operating expertise, and makes change-over of the machine to another product take significantly longer.
Thus, an assembly machine, system and method of use thereof that can be customizable and incrementally expanded that does not require predetermined feeder system positioning would be well received in the art.